Libyan Elections

Following is one I wrote yesterday for Daily News Egypt...

By Luis Sanchez

Despite calls for a nationwide boycott and an escalation in violence, 80 percent of Libya’s eligible registered voters headed to polls in the first round of voting on Saturday as the main liberal coalition claimed an early lead, the AFP reported.

The National Forces Alliance (NFA), a liberal party coalition, led by the former head of the National Transitional Council (NTC) Mahmud Jibril, claimed to have the group leading in the polls. The secretary general of the NFA, Faisal Krekshi, said the “early reports show the coalition is leading the polls in the majority of constituencies” according to a report by AFP.

This claim has been backed by Mohammed Sawan, the leader of the Justice and Construction party, who has been quoted saying he believed the NFA has “achieved good results in some large cities except Misrata.”

“They have a net lead in Tripoli and in Benghazi,” Sawan told the AFP.

Despite the violence that has marred Libya in the run up to the elections, there is an overwhelming sense of joy in the major cities, where the actual number of eligible and registered voters is highest. The NFA’s main opponents are the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Justice and Construction party, and Al-Wattan, an Islamist party led by Abdelhakim Belhadj. Belhadj was a former member of the Taliban, who was captured in Malaysia by the US Central Intelligence Agency in 2004, and was subsequently imprisoned in Libya for 7 years...

Full article can be found here

Obesity in Egypt

I was asked to write an article on obesity in Egypt for the Egypt Daily News, one of Egypt's biggest papers.

They asked I keep it lighthearted and funny, and so without further a do, if you are willing to deal with all the idioms, i present to you:

Obesity weighs heavily on the shoulders of Egyptians

By Luiz Sanchez


A recent study published online by BioMed Central has put Egypt in fifth place on their list of the countries with the most obese people in the world. It is surprising to think that a country which doubles as an open air sauna, where people are constantly on the move and drenched in sweat, could be so…big.

And yet there it is, Egypt carries more weight than most of the world, but there is a silver lining on the falafel; Kuwait and Qatar both rank higher than Egypt at second and fourth place respectively. It may be a hard nut to crack, but perhaps Egyptians could be egged on to find healthier foods if they realise the United Arab Emirates are riding the fava train just one place behind them.

Egypt needs solutions, there is no use crying over spilt milk. Perhaps Egyptians should go to the gym more often, eat more vegetables, look in the mirror, run more beauty pageants or just butter themselves up less and be more self-conscious.

Easier said than done, when many of the Egyptians faced with obesity have just enough to buy bread and butter. Well bread, but no butter. Of all the nations in the world, Egypt trumps all in bread consumption. This seems like as good a starting point as any for dealing with obesity. The bread is heavily subsidized and has become the staple for most people....

full article here